Sebi Proposes Easing Disclosure Rules For Non-Convertible Securities Issuance

To promote ease of doing business for issuance of non-convertible securities, Sebi on Thursday proposed removing the requirement to disclose the PAN and personal address of issuers' promoters in the offer document along with other relaxations in disclosure guidelines.

The current regulatory framework of Sebi's (Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Securities) rules or NCS norms mandates disclosure of the complete profile of promoters of the issuer in the offer document, which includes disclosure of PAN, and personal address among others.

Additionally, the regulator, in its consultation paper, suggested relaxation in the requirement of providing certain business and commercial details in case of purchase or acquisition of immovable property in the offer document.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought comments from the public till May 30 on the proposals in its consultation paper, the regulator has proposed that details regarding branches or units of the issuer as of the date of the offer document should be provided in the form of a static QR code and web-link.

Further, details of such branches/units may be provided to the debenture trustee and also kept available for inspection.

The current NCS regulations mandate disclosure of details of branches/units of the issuer in the offer document.

The regulator has suggested aligning the period for disclosure of key operational and financial parameters in line with the period for disclosure of financial information in the offer document.

Sebi has recommended providing flexibility for the signatories to provide attestation in the offer document.

Further, Sebi has proposed that an entity that has listed commercial paper shall provide a certificate to the stock exchange, confirming fulfillment of its payment obligations, within one working day of payment becoming due as against the current requirement of two days.

The proposals came after the Union government in the budget for FY2023-24 announced to simplify, ease, and reduce the cost of compliance for participants in the financial sector through a consultative approach.